After Dark
by Berryflight-star
Summary: A Dramione fanfic... Draco Malfoy, sitting in a muggle pub! And in muggle clothes! "Hello, Granger." he smirked.
1. What is he doing here?

**Hi guys! So I wrote this story (originally as a song-fic), and I was wondering if you all thought it was worth continuing.**

**I've only written as far as the start of the second chapter, and won't be updating that regularly, but would love to know what you guys think!**

**Please review!**

**(Oh, and the title isn't ideal...any suggestions?)**

**Enjoy!  
><strong>

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><p><strong><span>After Dark<span>**

Hermione walked into the bar. It was crowded, with very loud music and this was the second night in a row. She never used to spend time at a bar, but recently she was finding her flat to be very empty. It was better to spend the evening at the bar alone than to sit at home alone. She sighed, sitting down at the same stool from last night.

She was just taking her first sip from her cider, when she suddenly felt someone's eyes boring into the back of her neck. Feeling uncomfortable, she turned, quickly glancing round the room. Seeing no-one, she turned back around, the feeling gone. Hermione sighed in relief.

DMDMDMDM

Draco Malfoy sat in a corner, alone, and was staring at his half-full beer glass when suddenly his eyes were drawn to someone who had just walked in. He looked at them curiously, and then it sunk in…Hermione Granger was sitting at a bar, drinking… He had never expected to see her here, after not seeing her for 5 years. Well, she had certainly grown up. Narrowing his eyes, he wondered what could have happened to make Granger come to a bar…the Granger he knew wouldn't have set foot in one, let alone willing to get tipsy at one. Draining his glass, he rose and left. He would return the next night and see if Granger would appear again.

HGHGHGHG

The next night, she sat in the same place again. Once again, she could feel someone's eyes boring into her, but this time when she looked around, they stayed. Hermione squinted round, trying to find who was looking at her. There was a figure in a dark corner, dressed like a muggle as was everyone else, not standing out at all. Only difference was, the figure was angled towards her. She quickly turned away, not wanting them to know she'd spotted them. Beginning to feel curious, she made up her mind to return the next night to see if the figure was still there.

DMDMDMDM

A day later, he was sat at the same table in the corner, when once again Hermione Granger swept into the room. He took a moment to appreciate her figure, all the time thinking…was this really the same Granger he had known back at Hogwarts? It can't have been, the Granger he knew had bushy hair and sticking out teeth. Not smooth curly hair, an amazing figure which was only made more noticeable by the close fitting top she was wearing, and she was wearing just enough make up to accent her delicate features. Or was it? He'd been so prejudiced against muggleborns, he couldn't afford not to be, that he had never really studied her before. Suddenly he was aware that she was turning, looking around the room as she'd done the night before, only this time she seemed to catch sight of him in the corner. Thankful that the corner was dark, Draco watched as she quickly looked away, a blush spreading across her cheeks. He smirked. All through school he'd loved to make her uncomfortable, only this had a different feel to it, it felt more intriguing. He was incredibly curious about what had caused her to become a regular in the same bar he regularly attended. The next night he decided instead of staying in his corner, he would sit at the bar. Then she would surely notice him.

HGHGHGHG

Once again, Hermione entered the muggle pub. It was an unusual pub, where there was a bar, a band and a dance floor…many of the ones Harry and Ron went to just had music and a bar. She, however, preferred the liveliness of the dancing, even if she never took part. Walking to her usual spot, she sat down. Suddenly feeling as if something was different, she turned and saw Draco Malfoy sitting on the stool to the right of hers. Hermione stared at him, shocked, too shocked to make a noise. Draco Malfoy, sitting in a muggle pub?! And in muggle clothes?!

"Hello, Granger." he smirked.

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><p><strong>Review and let me know what you think!<strong>


	2. See you tonight?

**A/N Thank you to everyone who has favourited/followed/reviewed!**

**qinlvlin - thank you! You'll be seeing more of that, I really like showing what both characters are thinking. Maybe not overlapping as much after this chapter, but you'll definitely get both of their thoughts.**

**I'll only be updating whenever I've written the next chapter, so at the moment I have chapter 2 written, but won't be uploading it until I've written chapter 3. Sorry for the delays!**

**Enjoy the chapter! :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

**See you tonight?**

"Hello, Granger," he smirked.

She snapped out of her shock. "Hello?" she replied uncertainly.

"Surprised to see me here?" The smirk remained fixed in its place.

"Very." Hermione remarked. "What are you doing in a mug…"

"Shh, not so loud…" Malfoy smirked again.

Oh, right. Statute of Secrecy. Can't speak about 'muggles', around muggles. Still, what was he doing here? He'd always hated anything to do with them, he couldn't even stand to be near her, the offspring of one.

"What are you doing here?" she glared at him.

"I come here often, a long time before you did," Malfoy said coolly. Hmm. How did he know how long she'd been coming here? And what was he doing here, next to her seat?

"I've seen you come into the pub the last couple of nights, and decided to speak to you this time, it seemed like you might need some company,"  
>he explained, as if he'd read her mind.<p>

"Okay…" her mind raced frantically, trying to find the catch in Malfoy's words. She couldn't find any. He hadn't even been smirking when speaking.

"So it was you staring at me?" Hermione glared at him again.

"Yup," Malfoy smirked again. "You didn't recognise me last night, did you? I know you saw me."

Hermione flushed. No, she hadn't recognised him in the dark corner.

"Thought not." He said smugly.

"That doesn't explain what you're doing here." Hermione glared.

"I thought I had explained?"

"The truth this time," she snapped. The Malfoy she knew would never come and sit by her willing just to keep her company.

"It was the truth," Malfoy replied, his eyes wide.

"Okay," Hermione said, unsure.

"So, how come you come here every night then?" Malfoy smiled at her. Smiled. There was no smirk in sight, just a plain simple smile.

"Uhh…" Hermione stumbled, thrown off guard by this. "My flat just gets lonely, that's all…what about you?" she tried smiling back. Malfoy's eyes narrowed.

"Same." His lips quirked up into a smile again.

DMDMDMDM

Draco smiled as he heard the door open. He could almost count down the time before Granger would notice him…3, 2, 1…and there she was. Speechless? Hermione Granger was never speechless…

"Hello, Granger," he smirked.

That seemed to snap her out of her shock. "Hello?" she replied uncertainly.

"Surprised to see me here?" The smirk remained fixed in its place.

"Very," Granger remarked. "What are you doing in a mug.."

"Shh, not so loud…" Draco smirked again. Once again, this was out of character…Granger had grown up with and lived with muggles her whole life, and yet she was about to blurt out something that would make them suspicious that something was different?

"What are you doing here?" she glared at him. Ah. This was more like her.

"I come here often, a long time before you did," Draco said coolly. He could almost see the question in her eyes, wondering how he knew when she started coming here. He decided to explain.

"I've seen you come into the pub the last couple of nights, and decided to speak to you this time, as it seemed like you might need some company."  
>"Okay…"<p>

Draco could see that she was very puzzled about this behaviour.

"So it was you staring at me?" Granger glared at him again. He would never be able to work out how her mind worked.

"Yup," Draco smirked again. "You didn't recognise me last night, did you? I know you saw me."

Granger flushed. No, he thought as much.

"Thought not," he said smugly.

"That doesn't explain what you're doing here," Granger glared.

"I thought I had explained?"

"The truth this time," she said sharply.

"It was the truth," Draco replied, his eyes wide. He could read her well enough to know she didn't believe him.

"Okay," Granger said, unsure.

"So, how come you come here every night then?" Draco smiled at her. He almost smirked at her response to his smile, she can't be used to seeing him actually smile; he didn't do it often.

"Uhh…" Granger stumbled. "My flat just gets lonely, that's all…what about you?" she tried smiling back. Draco's eyes narrowed.

"Same," His lips quirked up into a smile again.

HGHGHGHG

A couple of weeks later, Hermione found herself wondering if Malfoy would be at the pub again. She hoped he would be. Every night for the last 2 weeks they had talked for hours at the bar, and she was looking forward to talking with him again. It had been a long time since she'd had anyone to talk to who could hold intelligent conversation. She found herself eager for that level of conversation again. Leaving the house, she glanced in the mirror. Yep, she had changed. Definitely for the better. Gone was the 'goody-two shoes' from her Hogwarts days, she was now most definitely a women. And a damn good-looking one at that. She smirked. Anyone else would think she was just being incredibly vain, but in reality it was just that she'd seen the look in men's eyes as they looked at her. Merlin, even Draco had it. Her eyes widened in astonishment. _Draco_? Since when…? Oh screw it. They were friends…kinda. On the way to being friends, anyway. She left hurriedly.

DMDMDMDMDM

Draco was sat at the bar again, hoping that Granger would appear. He had very much enjoyed their conversation last night, and was looking forward to another. It wasn't often that someone was able to hold that level of conversation, he could only think of one other. All day he had been thinking back to last night, willing the day to hurry up and end. He had even been caught smiling to himself by his secretary, who looked shocked and slightly fearful. He had rushed through his jobs, redone half of them because he had done it so messily the first time, only took a 10 minute lunch break, and arrived home at 4.00, instead of 5.30, only to realise then that Granger would still be there at the same time, no matter what time he arrived. So he sat there for 30 minutes, and then cursed himself for being so stupid. Draco called his house elf to prepare some dinner, and went into his study.

"Draco?"

Draco looked up, startled. He saw Granger standing there, and felt his jaw drop. Shaking his head, he quickly smiled. She hadn't looked this sexy yesterday, he was sure.

"Hi."

"Good day?" Granger smiled back, taking the seat next to him.

"Not really. Hang on, you called me Draco," Draco said, staring. Granger blushed.

"Yeah, I figured we're friends now, and friends call each other by their first name, right?"

"Sure, _Hermione_," Draco smirked.

"Great," Hermione grinned, relaxing. She ordered a drink. "Wanna refill?"

"Sure."

HGHGHGHG

Hermione walked over to Draco, tentatively. He looked so deep in thought, she didn't want to disturb him.

"Draco?" she said cautiously. Shoot. Malfoy. Not Draco. Perhaps he didn't notice.

"Hi," Draco looked almost speechless.

"Good day?" Hermione smiled, relieved he hadn't been paying attention.

"Not really. Hang on, you called me Draco," Draco stared. Hermione felt herself going red and tensing up.

"Yeah, I figured we're friends now, and friends call each other by their first name, right?"

"Sure, _Hermione_," Draco smirked.

"Great," Hermione grinned, relaxing. She ordered a drink. "Wanna refill?"

"Sure. Thanks _Hermione_," Draco winked.

"Shut up," Hermione scowled.

"What? I thought we were friends, Hermione?" Draco smirked.

Hermione huffed and childishly turned away.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Draco teased.

"You better be," Hermione smirked. "You're paying next round."

"There's going to be another round? And here I thought you didn't approve of going out and getting drunk," Draco winked again.

DMDMDMDM

Draco felt so light, and not just because he had alcohol in his system. He had never enjoyed an evening as much as this one, he felt like a completely different person around Hermione. He had so much fun teasing her; this was the first night that all boundaries were down.

"Well I never used to, and I wouldn't now without good reason," Hermione sighed, all playfulness gone.

"Oh.." Draco said awkwardly. "Sorry, didn't mean to make you upset."

"It's fine, you didn't."

Draco was burning with curiosity. He didn't dare ask her what was wrong yet though. Despite being friends, he wasn't sure how much the friendship could stand.

"So, why did you start coming here?" Hermione asked.

"You know, lonely, empty house, nothing to do…" Draco shrugged.

"I know the feeling," Hermione half smiled ruefully.

Draco took a swig from his drink.

"So what do you actually do? During the day I mean?" he asked.

"I work in the Care of Magical Creatures department in the ministry, you?" Hermione gave a proper smile.

"I work in the Auror department."

"Really?" Hermione was shocked, that was obvious. _Will I never be rid of my past?_

"What, you think I wouldn't want to help the wizarding world?"

"No, I just…"  
>"That…<em>creature <em>ruined my life and my family, Hermione. Why would I not do everything I can to pay it back?" Draco said angrily. _No matter what I do…_

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, I can't imagine what it would have been like for you…"  
>"Did you know I switched sides <em>before<em> the end of the war?" Draco interrupted.

"What?" Hermione stared.

"Yeah, I decided that I didn't want to have that bastard destroying my life and my family any more than he already has, and Dumbledore asked me to stay there and spy," Draco looked down at his drink. He had never told anyone this before, not even his mother had known.

"Draco, I'm so sorry. I would've…"  
>"Done what?" Draco raised his eyebrows.<p>

"I…" Hermione's voice died out. She looked like she was thinking.

Draco smirked, his annoyance over. He knew that Hermione would have welcomed him into the group; however, he didn't know what Potter and Weasley would have done.

"Wanna dance?" Draco asked. _Please say yes…_

"Really, you would dance? In a place like this? With me?" Hermione smirked.

"Yes," He said simply, downing his drink.

Grabbing her hand, he dragged her to the dance floor. Thankfully it was a slow song, he really didn't fancy doing the embarrassing moves that everyone else had been doing up till now.

Hermione placed her hands on his shoulders, and he pulled her closer, placing his hands on her waist.

She laughed as he twirled her around.

Spinning her back towards him, he wrapped his arms around her again.

They stood there, swaying.

As the song came to an end, Hermione sighed, and stepped away.

Draco instantly missed the feeling of her against him. _What the hell is wrong with me?!_

HGHGHGHG

Hermione stepped back, and instantly missed the feeling of his arms around her. _What the hell is wrong with me?!_

"I probably should be going, I don't want to be too tired tomorrow," She smiled ruefully; it was much later than she normally stayed. Turning, she walked back to their seats.

"Wait, I was wondering…"

Hermione waited for Draco to finish.

"Would you like to have lunch with me tomorrow lunchtime?"

"Sounds good," Hermione smiled.

"Great," Draco smiled back. "Meet you at 1?"

"Definitely," Hermione grabbed her stuff and left.

DMDMDMDM

Draco smiled as he got ready for work the next day. A real, genuine smile. He was meeting Hermione for lunch. A planned meeting, not just a 'chance' meeting in the pub. _Fine, an intentional meeting in the pub._

He couldn't continue pretending that he didn't care about her after the way they were dancing last night.  
>He smiled just thinking about it.<p>

However, when he got to his office, his boss approached him.

"Malfoy, there's a meeting at 12.30, you need to be there."  
>"Will it be long?"<p>

"No, should be over quite quickly," his boss replied.

"Okay, where is it?" Draco sighed. _Quite quickly_ meant that it would be an hour, possibly more.

HGHGHGHG

Hermione sat down at her desk, and saw a note addressed to her. She opened it.

_Hermione,_

_I'm so sorry; there is a meeting at 12.30 today._

_My boss has said I must attend, so I'm afraid I won't be able to make lunch._

_Are you free any other time this week?  
><em>

_Draco_

Hermione sighed, and smiled sadly. She picked up a pen and was about to start replying when her boss popped his head round the corner.

"Hey Hermione, are you free at lunch today? Only there's a meeting that I would really appreciate you being at…"  
>"Uhh…yeah, I'm free," Hermione smiled. <em>At least Draco won't feel bad now…<em>

"Great, it's at 12.30. Be there 10 minutes early. I would love you to discuss the plans with the representative from the Auror Department. You might know him actually, Draco Malfoy?"

Hermione laughed. "Yeah, I know him. I'll be there." She promised.

"Great, thanks! It's in Auror Department, room 5."  
>"Thank you," Hermione smiled.<p>

_Draco,_

_Looks like I'll be seeing you anyway…my boss has told me to be at that meeting as well, and to meet you 10 minutes early._

_See you then?_

_Hermione_

_Hermione,_

_How ironic._

_Sounds great, looking forward to it._

_Grab lunch after?_

_Draco_

_Draco,_

_Sounds like a plan!_

_Hermione_

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! :)<strong>


	3. What are you thinking?

**Well apparently I'm obsessed...have just finished chapter 3, and it's 1.57am.**

**The chapters are getting shorter, sorry! However it does mean that you'll be getting a bit more frequent updates, so it's kinda good :)**

**There will be less overlap with scenes now, I only did that for the first bit as I wanted to show their reactions. Now you'll just be getting one of their reactions to something, unless they think back later.**

****IrisstoneHPfan - glad you're enjoying it! :)****

**Please review! Enjoy :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

**What are you thinking?**

12.20

"Hey!" Hermione smiled.

"Hey, good morning?" Draco smiled back.

"Not really, too slow," Hermione frowned. "Yours?"

"Alright thanks," Draco smiled. "What was so bad about this morning?"

"Too boring, a ton of paperwork." Hermione sighed.

"I thought you loved working here?" Draco smirked.

"I do…?" Hermione questioned. Draco raised his eyebrows.

"I did, it's just now it's become much more about the paperwork, and responsibility, and…"  
>"Why don't you just quit?" Draco questioned, cutting across her.<p>

"Nah, what would I do then? I need to earn a living, and I can't just pack up and leave," Hermione frowned. "Anyway, we should actually discuss what our bosses wanted us to."  
>"Sounds like a blast," Draco said sarcastically.<p>

"That had to be the longest meeting ever," Draco groaned, 2 hours later.

"Yep," Hermione replied grumpily. "But hey, at least they gave us the rest of the day off, right?"

"True," Draco smiled.

Draco sighed. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Alright, meet you out the front in 5 minutes?" Hermione smiled.

"Great," Draco walked towards his office.

Hermione stared after him for a few seconds, then turned.

DMDMDMDM

Draco smirked as he felt Hermione stare after him. He had admitted to himself that he was attracted to her, and she was definitely the only person he knew who could speak to him the way she did.

Working swiftly, he gathered his things and made his way to the front of the building.

"That was quick," Hermione smirked. "In a hurry to leave by any chance?"  
>"Very funny," Draco muttered.<p>

"So, I was thinking…I could really do with some ice-cream right about now." Hermione chatted as they walked down the road.

"Sounds very healthy to me," Draco smirked.

"Well, we need comfort food," Hermione replied defensively.

"Hey, I wasn't complaining," Draco winked.

"What's got you suddenly cheerful then?" Hermione said curiously.

"Nothing, just glad to be out of the office," Draco smiled.

"I know the feeling," Hermione sighed.

"Quit your job?" Draco smirked.

"We've already discussed this," Hermione shoved Draco.

"So you still haven't changed your mind?" Draco shoved lightly back.

"Nope," Hermione popped her lips on the 'p'.

"What if another job offer came along?" Draco said, thinking. "For a job that you'd much prefer."

"Then I'd probably consider it, but there aren't any jobs going," Hermione said.

_I wonder…it's her birthday soon, right?_

He voiced this thought.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Hermione replied, startled.

_Hogwarts…_

_*FLASHBACK*_

"_Happy birthday, Hermione!" Harry and Ron exclaimed as they raced into the Great Hall, and sat down either side of her.  
>"Thanks guys!" Draco heard Granger reply happily from the other side of the hall. It was early morning, the only day of the year that Harry and Ron made an effort to get down for breakfast early.<em>

"_Oh wow! Thank you so much Ron!" Granger gave him a big hug. Draco watched bitterly. Normally it didn't bother him, watching how close the Golden Trio were, how happy they were together. However, once a year, there was no-one there to distract him from the happy trio, as there was always practically no-one in the Great Hall. Once a year, he had to sit and watch with envy and sadness that no-one had ever wanted to be close to him, let alone like him. Sure, he had the attention of every girl in Hogwarts (with the exception of the obvious), but they weren't after him because they actually liked HIM, they wanted him because of his wealth, good looks, and family name. He had no-one._

_Roughly, he pushed up from the table and grabbed his bag. He couldn't sit through this again. It was his final year at Hogwarts, after the war had ended he had even fewer friends, there was no-one who even wanted to associate with him anymore. Because he had switched sides, those who were originally his allies now hated him, and most of the good side didn't know that he had switched, but even if they did know, he doubted that they would trust him. His father was dead (the one good thing to come out of the war), his mother was insane, and didn't even remember she had a son let alone what she had done for him. It seemed that the only thing tying her to reality had been his father, so after the war and his dead body was found, her mind snapped. She had been through too much, and she couldn't handle it anymore._

_Draco strolled out of the Great Hall, his face a mask. He glanced at the happy three quickly, and felt his mood sink even lower as he saw Granger turn and briefly kiss Ron on the lips._

_His mask almost shattered. He didn't know when they had officially gotten together, but he felt his stomach twist at the sight._

"_What is wrong with me?" Draco groaned aloud. He walked quickly to the library; he'd been spending a lot of time there lately._

_Not long after, he heard someone enter. He almost groaned. Only one person could be coming in at this time, before classes had began.  
>"Malfoy?" he heard her say.<em>

_He felt tempted to ignore her, but he found that his body was already turning towards her.  
>"Are you alright?" she asked.<em>

"_Of course, why would I not be?" Draco said gruffly._

"_I heard about your father…"_

"_That man is not my father," Draco spat._

"_I'm sorry, I just wanted to see if you were okay. I've noticed you haven't been yourself lately," Granger asked.  
>Why did she have to be so observant, and what's more, so caring?! Draco felt his mask almost crumbling again.<em>

"_Myself how? Not bullying you, Potter and Weasel? Not going round calling people mudbloods?" Draco snapped. He couldn't let her see past the mask._

"_No, I just mean that you've been very…subdued. Quiet…withdrawn." Granger replied calmly._

"_Well, I'm fine," Draco turned back to his work, so that she couldn't see the pain in his eyes._

"_Okay, well I hope you know that I've forgiven you. For everything."  
>Draco felt something inside him snap.<em>

_No-one had ever paid so much attention to him and cared for him so much. Even his mother hadn't._

_The door shut._

_Draco grabbed his bag and raced out, wanting to make it back to his room before he completely broke._

_There had been an extra wing added to castle for the returning 7__th__ years, and Draco was the only slytherin returning to repeat his 7__th__ year so he had a room to himself, something he was very grateful for._

_He didn't go to classes that day, instead he spent the day in his day, lying on his bed and thinking._

_The Heads had been chosen out of the new 7__th__ years as it had been decided that the returning 7__th__ years didn't need the extra pressure after the last year._

_Granger had been disappointed of course._

_To tell the truth, Draco had been slightly as well. He could use the extra distraction, and who knows, he might have been good at it. He did think McGonagall might have chosen him as well, she was one of the few who knew that he'd switched sides. The heads were Dennis Creevey and Ginny Weasley. He did have to admit, however, that they worked very well together as heads, and kept the order in the school. Everyone looked up to them._

_Eventually, he decided that he should go and get some dinner, and as he opened his door he almost tripped over a plate of food. Startled, he looked at his watch. He'd missed dinner by at least an hour. He bent down and picked up the food, and examined it cautiously. He had an idea who had left it, and the slip of paper underneath confirmed it._

'_Malfoy, I thought you might like some dinner, seeing as you've not left your room the entire day. If you ever need to talk, I'm here. Don't worry, I haven't poisoned it. Granger'_

_Draco stood there, frozen. He couldn't believe that she'd done this. She'd put a warming charm on it, and somehow had chosen all his favourite foods. He smiled, and to his embarrassment (even though no-one was around to see) tears came into his eyes. He hurriedly shut the door and tucked in._

_*END FLASHBACK*_

"I have a good memory," Draco smiled. _I never did repay her for that…_

Thinking back now, he could see that that was the moment when he'd started to see her as more than just another insignificant person. It didn't seem to matter who, you just couldn't help being captivated by Hermione Granger. She had one of the most caring, forgiving and loving hearts he'd ever known anyone to have.

"Come on, I'm buying," Draco said, dragging Hermione into the ice-cream shop. He was starting to fall for this girl.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed it, please review and let me know what you think! :)<strong>


	4. You can tell me

**Hello all! I am so so sorry for being so slow at updating, am currently in my second year of A Levels and so am ridiculously busy with college work. I will try and get more written over the Christmas holidays, though we have mocks the first week back so no promises! Here is the new chapter, it was originally split into two but I feel bad for leaving it so long, so here you go :)**

**Let me know what you think, and enjoy :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

**You can tell me...**

**HGHGHGHG**

Draco bought them ice-creams, and they returned to Hermione's flat for dinner. He was sat on the couch watching TV, Hermione was in the kitchen preparing food.

"Did you want another drink?" Hermione asked, coming through to the lounge.

"No thanks, I'm good," Draco smiled. "Anything I can do?"

"No, it's all done, just waiting for it to cook," Hermione curled up at the end of the sofa.

A second later, the door bell rang.

"Expecting anyone?" Draco asked surprised.

"No…" Hermione said puzzled. She got up, and went to the door. She opened it, keeping it shut so that Draco couldn't see who it was.

**DMDMDMDM**

Draco was burning with curiosity. It sounded like whoever it was at the door was causing trouble, but Hermione had signalled to him to stay where he was.

After 5 minutes of muffled arguing, Draco was about to get up and go and help. Hermione slammed the door shut just as he was getting off the sofa.

"Sorry…" Hermione turned, and Draco could see the tears appearing in her eyes.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Draco asked gently.

"Nothing…" Hermione replied, unsure.

A second later, her mask broke, and she would have fallen if it wasn't for Draco's quick reflexes catching her as she fell.

"You're definitely not, come over here," Draco ordered.

He pulled her towards the sofa, and sat down, letting her crying into his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her, trying to offer comfort, but unsure. _I've never done this before! What do I do?!_

After about 15 minutes, she half sat up, still leaning on him.

"I'm so sorry, that was…that won't happen again," Hermione said, embarrassed. _Oh Merlin I've really fallen for her, haven't I?_

"Hey, I don't mind, you know you can tell me anything, right?" Draco told her, wanting to help in any way that he could.

"Yeah, thanks," Hermione replied, still embarrassed.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No, I'm fine," Hermione gave a weak smile.

"I'll get you a drink," Draco got up, removing his arm from around her.

A minute later, he came back carrying a glass of red wine.

Suddenly, there was a ring through the flat.

Draco jumped, almost spilling the drink. He handed it to Hermione.

"Thanks," she said looking a bit more in control of herself. She took the drink. "That's my mobile, could you please get it? I think it's on my bed."  
>"Sure," Draco walked into her bedroom, and quickly got her phone. "It's Weasley."<p>

"What?" Hermione looked shocked.

"Uhh…Ginny, sorry," Draco looked apologetic. There were too many Weasleys.

"Oh, right…could you answer please? I don't want her to think I'm ignoring her or anything, I just…"  
>"I get it," Draco smiled. He flipped it open, and held it to his ear. The ringing continued. Hermione giggled.<p>

"You need to press the green button."

Draco frowned. The ringing stopped.

"Damn it," Hermione sighed. "She's gonna be mad, she hates answer phone."  
>"Want me to ring back?"<br>"In a bit, she'll leave a message first. See if it's important."  
>Draco sat back down, and Hermione curled up by him. He put his arm round her again.<p>

He had never been one for cuddling, but something about Hermione made him want to hold her, to protect her. The last half an hour had made him feel even more protective of her. Not that she couldn't physically take care of herself, the punch she threw at him in 3rd year proved that. Just that she emotionally needed someone to support her at the moment. Draco was more than willing to be that person. Better than Potter or Weasley.

They sat in silence for a while, until they were disturbed by the oven beeping. Hermione sighed, and got up.

As soon as she was in the kitchen, her phone started to ring again.

Draco answered it. "Weasley?"

"…that's not Hermione," Ginny spoke the obvious. "Who the hell are you? What have you done with her?!"

"Merlin, you'd think you'd remember my voice, Weaselette," Draco smirked.

"_MALFOY?! _What the hell are you doing with Hermione's phone?! Is she okay?!" Ginny yelled. Draco winced, holding the phone away from his ear.

"She told me to answer it, actually, and I think she's alright, she's a bit upset," Draco lowered his voice.

"We'll get around to this later, but right now…what's wrong?" Ginny could pick up the concern in his voice.

"I'm not sure, she had a visitor a while ago, and she's been crying for the last quarter of an hour, and just isn't herself," Draco stared at the kitchen.

"Oh Merlin…well my advice is put on a film, something like the Lion King, she loves that film…and just be there," Ginny's voice became sympathetic.

"Do you know what's wrong?" Draco demanded.

"Yeah, but I'm going to let her tell you if she wants," Ginny said.

"Okay," Draco replied.

"Hey, I have no idea how and when you two became friends, but she obviously trusts you enough to cry in front of you, it took her 3 years to be able to cry in front of me…so just don't hurt her, okay? She needs more friends she can rely on," Ginny warned.

"I won't," Draco promised. Hermione walked back in.

'_Is that Ginn__y?'_She mouthed. Draco nodded.

'_Do you want to speak to her?'_

Hermione shook her head.

"I have to go, thanks for the advice!" Draco hung up.

"What advice?" Hermione asked, curious.

"Nothing important. Is the dinner ready?"  
>"Yeah, I just came in to find out if you want a drink," Hermione half smiled.<p>

"Yes please," Draco smiled.

"Okay," Hermione walked back into the kitchen. Draco turned and looked for the Lion King.

He found it, and then tried to figure out how to put the film in.

"What are you doing?" Hermione sounded amused.

"Trying to turn on this stupid machine," Draco huffed.

"Lion King, good choice," Hermione smiled. Draco inwardly smirked.

Hermione took the film off him. "Could you please get the plates while I set this up?"

"Sure," Draco returned to find Hermione sat with a controller on her lap, huddled underneath a blanket.

Draco sat down next to her, and watched as the film began.

_Who would've thought, Draco Malfoy in Hermione Granger's flat, watching The Lion King…_ Draco smiled at how much things had changed from 2 months ago.

**HGHGHGHG**

Draco sat down next to me, and the film began. Half an hour later, Hermione was dosing off, feeling warm and safe with Draco's arms around her. _Thing's are so different now…I can't believe how quickly my life has turned around…_

Hermione woke, and looked outside. It was pitch black, and the clock read 00.07. She saw Draco fast asleep, and snuggled back down. She smiled as she drifted off to sleep again.

"What…?" Hermione spluttered. She woke up with a jerk.

Her face was covered with water.

Draco stood above her, laughing.

"You beast!" Hermione shoved him as she got off the sofa to fetch a towel. "There was no nicer way to wake me?" she asked sarcastically.

"No, I tried, you refused," Draco explained, still laughing to himself.

"You'd better have made coffee," Hermione grumbled. She walked into the kitchen. She had no idea where this completely relaxed feeling of trust came from with Draco, especially after…no, she wouldn't think about that. It had been embarrassing enough last night, after HE had shown up at her flat. She flinched.

The smell of coffee greeted her. She smiled softly and poured herself a cup.

**DMDMDMDM**

Draco sat down on the sofa waiting for Hermione to come back. He chuckled to himself, who knew that one day he'd be sitting here in her front room, after staying the night…and still fully dressed. That alone was unusual for him, completely ignoring who the company was. He let his mind drift…

**_FLASHBACK_**

"_Granger, you will be working with Malfoy."_

"_What?!" Potter and Weasley gasped._

"_Hey, it's fine." Granger spoke quietly. "He's changed."_

"_B-but…" Weasley stuttered. "He's MALFOY, how the hell has he changed?!"_

_Potter looked at Granger. "You sure?"_

_Granger nodded. "Yes, have you not noticed?"_

"_No." Weasley's expression darkened._

_Draco decided that was enough. He stood up, and walked to their table._

"_Coming, Granger?"_

"_Malfoy." Weasley's face darkened even more, if that was even possible._

_Draco narrowed his eyes at him. "Weasley."_

"_If you even try anything fu…" Weasley started._

"_Ron!" Granger snapped. "I've told you, it's fine." Weasley's eyes narrowed._

_Granger got up and collected her stuff. She sighed, "So, where are we sitting?"  
>With a final glare at Potter and Weasley, Draco led the way.<em>

_They were told to work on a highly complex potion. Glancing around, Draco noticed that no-one else was working on this. He narrowed his eyes. What was Slughorn thinking?_

"_What's up with you?" Granger said. Draco immediately tensed, before realising that there was no bite in Granger's words, just honest concern._

"_Nothing, just we're the only ones doing this potion."  
>Her eyes widened. "Really?"<em>

"_No, Granger, I'm just in the habit of lying." Draco responded sarcastically._

_Granger flinched. "Sorry…well we'd better get to work, if we don't get an O then I'm blaming you."_

"_Fair enough," Draco replied easily, smirking at Granger's shocked expression. To be honest, if they didn't get an O it was likely to be him who messed up, he had never seen a potion that Granger had done that wasn't perfect. He turned away and gathered the ingredients._

"_Congratulations, you two," Slughorn smiled at them both. Granger visibly relaxed next to him. Her hair wasn't frizzy like it was normally after concocting a complicated potion, and she'd seemed a lot more relaxed throughout the brewing. Maybe that was a product of the war, handling pressure a lot better now._

"_Well, I probably should get back to Harry and Ron now…" Granger said awkwardly. Draco narrowed his eyes. Was that reluctance he heard?_

"_Yeah, they must be concerned that I have tried to attack you." Draco smirked._

"_Yeah, sorry about that…they don't quite understand." Granger apologised, glancing down. "I meant what I said by the way. I have completely forgiven you for everything."  
>Draco's features softened into an almost smile. "Thank you," he said simply. Granger smiled back, and walked back to her friends. Weasley looked about ready to blow up, Granger looked irritated, and Potter just looked curiously at Draco. He sighed and collected his stuff before walking out.<em>

**_END FLASHBACK_**

**HGHGHGHG**

"Draco?" Hermione said. This was the third time she'd said his name…this was so unlike him.

He snapped his head towards her.

"Yes?" Draco asked.

"Did you want some coffee?"

"Yes please, then I probably should be heading off, got some work to catch up on." Draco glanced at his watch, glancing up to see Hermione's eyes showing her distress. "Or I could stay…" He questioned.

"No, it's fine," Hermione replied, the guard coming up.

"The work isn't that important, I can do it some other time," Draco assured her. Her eyes betrayed her relief.

"You sure?"

"Definitely," Draco smiled, and took the coffee off her. They sat in silence for a while.

"I'm sorry, I must be so boring to be around," Hermione said. "Sorry for making you stay."  
>"You didn't make me stay, I want to," Draco smiled softly at her. "You know you can talk to me if you need to, right? You don't have to pretend to be okay all the time."<p>

Hermione sat there, tears suddenly flowing down her cheeks. "I…"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but if you think that it's going to make me want to leave then you are so wrong." Draco looked at her seriously.

"Thank you, I just find it hard to talk about." Hermione replied.

"We don't need to talk now," Draco took one of her hands. Hermione half smiled at him.

"So what shall we do today?"

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you all have a great Christmas! :)<strong>


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